Posts Tagged With: words

“I love you!” The words just hung there in the air suspended for the moment, drifting, waiting for the echo…”I love you, too!”

I thought about it and wondered if there really needs be an echo, a reply of the same.

“Why do we tell someone “I love you?” I wondered. Oh, the obvious point is to let someone know you care about them. But do we say it so that we can hear it back? If we say those words they certainly aren’t taken or given lightly. There is power behind them, woven in between them and laced with tone’s of commitment. But do we also say them because we, too need reassurance? Are we really saying it this way; “I love you! Do you love me?”

I believe the best things in life come to us without expectations. It reminds me of the tradition of sending greeting cards.

“Should I send a birthday card to Uncle Joe?”

“Did you get one from him for your birthday?

“No.”

“Well, I wouldn’t send one to him.”

How many things do you do that you label as “giving” when in reality you are expecting a return for your gesture?

Have you ever given something anonymously?

I’m not suggesting that it’s wrong to say “I love you” because you long to hear it. I just wondered how many times we say it without expectations.

So I experimented with it. When somebody tells me “I love you”, I didn’t reply with the same words. I would say “thanks.” In some cases I replied with a hug. Other times I said or did nothing. The words hung in mid air.
For me, hearing the words echo back doesn’t mean that much. It seems too mechanical. Like “Thank you” and “You’re welcome.” It’s polite and proper, but expected.Continue reading →

One day a teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name.

Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say
about each of their classmates and write it down. It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment and, as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.
That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about that individual.

On Monday, she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. “Really?” she heard whispered. “I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!” and, “I didn’t know others liked me so much.” were some of the comments.

No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn’t matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another.

That group of students moved on. Several years later, one of the students was killed in Vietnam and his teacher attended the funeral of that special student.

She had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. He looked so handsome, so mature.

The church was packed with his friends. One by one, those who loved him took a last walk by the coffin. The teacher was the last one to bless the coffin. As she stood there, one of the soldiers, who acted as pallbearer, came up to her. “Were you Mark’s math teacher?” he asked. She nodded: “Yes.”Then he said: “Mark talked about you a lot.”

After the funeral, most of Mark’s former classmates went together to a luncheon. Mark’s mother and father were there, obviously waiting to speak with his teacher.

“We want to show you something,” his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket. “They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it.” Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notepaper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times.

The teacher knew, without looking, that the papers were the ones on which she had listed all the good things each of Mark’s classmates had said about him.
“Thank you so much for doing that,” Mark’s mother said. “As you can see, Mark treasured it.”

All of Mark’s former classmates started to gather around. Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, “I still have my list. It’s in the top drawer of my desk at home.”

Chuck’s wife said, “Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album.”
“I have mine too,” Marilyn said. “It’s in my diary.”
Then Vickie, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. “I carry this with me at all times,” Vickie said, and without batting an eyelash, she continued: “I think we all saved our lists.”

That’s when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Mark and for all his friends who would never see him again.

The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life will end one day. And we don’t know when that one day will be.

guys, please read between the lines. learn to understand the non-verbal and verbal ways of a woman.
(1) Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

(2) Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

(3) Nothing: Things is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end with fine.

(4) Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don’t Do It!

(5) Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to #3 for the meaning of nothing.)

(6) That’s Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That’s okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

(7) Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or Faint. Just say you’re welcome. (I want to add in a clause here- This is true, unless she says ‘Thanks a lot’ – that is PURE sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say ‘you’re welcome’………… that will bring on a ‘whatever.’)

(8 Whatever: It is a women’s way of saying *beep* YOU!

(9) Don’t worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking ‘What’s wrong?’ For the woman’s response refer to #3.